


Baby, Pull Me Closer

by court_dancer10



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Panic Attacks, This is really dramatic I'm sorry, but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2018-12-16 06:39:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11823279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/court_dancer10/pseuds/court_dancer10
Summary: When Tyler suffers a possibly career-ending injury during a game, Jordie has to figure out how to take care of him while also taking care of himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love Jordie/Tyler but there's so little content on them, I couldn't resist writing something about them! Hopefully y'all like this.

Jordie couldn’t breathe. Tyler was lying on the ice, completely unmoving. There was a puddle of blood slowly forming around his head, and Jordie had no idea what to do. 

He had no idea how he got to the position he was in, bent over at the waist near Tyler’s head. The trainers and doctors were flooding onto the ice, and he vaguely felt a hand land on his neck. 

“He’s gonna be okay, Jor,” Jamie’s soft voice floated over him.

He didn’t respond, staring, terrified, at his boyfriend, who still hadn’t moved a muscle.

He could hear the medical staff examining Tyler, doing their best to bring him back to consciousness. The stands were completely silent, fans watching on in horror. Players were focussed intently on the unmoving player still lying on the ice.

Slowly, torturously slowly, Jordie saw Tyler’s eyelids flutter and open. Tyler blinked his eyes slowly, clearly not processing where he was and what had happened. Jordie couldn’t help the breath he released, just knowing that his boyfriend was, at the very least, conscious.

Time passed slowly as the medical team got Tyler loaded onto a backboard and then stretcher. Tyler was answering questions, still clearly disoriented, but Jordie would take it for now. He skated over to his boyfriend’s side just before they took him off the ice, and gave him a gentle pat on the arm.

“I love you,” he whispered quickly.

“Jor. Jor, I love you, too,” Tyler responded drowsily.

He watched Tyler be carted off the ice, and skated solemnly back to the bench to wait out the rest of the game.

\--

Jordie cared about nothing more than getting to the hospital. He showered quicker than he ever had in his life, snagging the car keys from Jamie, leaving him to find his own way home.

He broke several laws in his hurry to get there, but it still seemed like hours later that he finally arrived.

He forced himself to slow down when he reached Tyler’s room, cautiously entering in case Tyler was asleep.

What he was met with, however, shattered his heart. 

Tyler was hooked up to a myriad of machines, looking small and fragile in the hospital bed and thin gown.

“Tyler,” he breathed, venturing further into the room.

The man in question slowly looked up, a small grin replacing the pained expression previously plastered across his face.

“Jordie. Come here, please.”

Jordie complied immediately, rushing to cover the rest of the distance to the hotel bed.

“How are you feeling? Headache? Dizziness? Nausea? Have the doctors said anything? Is it a concussion?” He was speaking a mile a minute, but he couldn’t seem to slow himself down.

Tyler smiled gently, grasping Jordie’s hand in his own.

“Breathe, baby. I’m okay. My head doesn’t feel so great, but they’re gonna let me go soon. I’ve got a concussion and some stitches. I’ll be good as new in no time, eh? Nothing to worry about.”

Jordie let out a sigh of relief, sinking down into an uncomfortable plastic chair, never once letting go of Tyler’s hand.

“You’re not staying home alone. No arguments,” he could see his boyfriend opening his mouth to protest, quickly snapping it shut at the tone in Jordie’s voice. “You can either stay with Jamie and me or I’ll stay at your place, but you’re not gonna be alone. You scared the shit out of me, sweetheart. You were laying on the ice, not moving, blood all around your head and I thought… I thought you weren’t going to wake up. I thought I had lost you. Just, please… Don’t make me go home without you, okay? Let me take care of you. I need to know you’re safe, baby.”

He was crying by the end of his impromptu speech, clutching desperately at Tyler’s hand with one hand, gently cupping his face with the other. 

Tyler gave him a look of pure love, rubbing his free hand up and down Jordie’s arm soothingly.   
“I promise I’m okay, Jor. Just a little banged up. But I'll stay at your place for as long as you want. I love you, so, so much.”

“I love you, too, Ty.”

\-- 

Many hours and a mountain of paperwork later, Jordie had an arm slung around Tyler’s waist, supporting most of his weight as they made their way into the apartment Jamie and Jordie shared.

It took a lot of shuffling and breaks when Tyler got too dizzy, but they eventually made it to the bedroom. Jordie slowly and gently lowered Tyler to the mattress, quickly helping him into pajamas before laying him softly against the pillows.

Tyler’s eye were shut tight, fighting off the pain and dizziness racing through his head.

Jordie made quick work of his own clothes, placing a trashcan next to Tyler’s side of the bed and grabbing a water bottle and Tyler’s medicine and placing it within easy reach.

He turned off the light and slipped into bed as gently as possible, trying not to jostle Tyler at all. He could see the younger man slowly start to relax as the pain and dizziness passed, and slowly rubbed his hand up and down the tattooed arm. 

“Think you can sleep some? You need to rest,” Jordie murmured quietly.

“Yeah. Just… Don’t leave? I don’t wanna be alone,” Tyler whispered back.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby boy. Go to sleep, I’ll be right here. Don’t try to get out of bed alone though, yeah? Wake me up. I’m serious, Ty. Don’t try to get out of bed alone.”

Tyler grunted in response, snuggling himself into Jordie’s side and relaxing fully, falling to sleep not long after.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I could not seem to find the inspiration to get this chapter done! Hopefully it's worth the wait, and as always, feel free to drop a comment to let me know what you think!

Two weeks after the hit saw Jordie and Tyler on the couch, Tyler’s head pillowed on Jordie’s lap. Jordie was petting lightly through Tyler’s hair, trying to ease the headache the younger man was currently miserable with. 

“Jordie,” Tyler whimpered, tears falling freely from his eyes.

“I know, baby, I'm so sorry. I wish I could fix it for you.”

Tyler sobbed miserably, the pain seizing him in it's ironclad grip. He reached blindly for Jordie's free hand, needing something to hold on to as the pain continued to wash over him.

“The pain meds will kick in soon, Ty, just hang in there, okay? It'll be better soon, I promise.”

Tyler didn't respond, eyes still closed tight against the small amount of light sneaking its way through the curtains. 

Jordie was completely helpless, knowing there was nothing more he could do but wishing he could take away Tyler's pain. 

Agonizingly slowly, the medicine began to work and Tyler began to relax, muscles melting with the relief from the intense pain. He fell asleep quickly after, completely exhausted.

Jordie sighed in relief and hoped that Tyler would stay asleep for a while. He hadn't been sleeping well since the accident, migraines and nausea waking him up frequently. 

Jordie had drifted into a light sleep when he heard the door open. He opened his eyes slowly, waiting for the living room to come into focus. Jamie was walking through the door, taking care to be quiet. Tyler’s migraines were no secret and he had gotten in the habit of being quiet just in case.

“Hey. Bad morning?” Jamie gestured to Tyler, still pale and lying in Jordie’s lap.

“Yeah. He just got to sleep about an hour ago. Hopefully he’ll stay asleep for a while longer.”

Jamie gazed at his brother, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the drawn expression on his face. 

“How are you holding up? You’ve barely left his side, and I know you’re not getting a lot of sleep. You need to take care of yourself, Jordie.”

“I know. But he needs me, Jam. His headaches don’t seem to be getting any better, and he’s still dizzy most of the time. I’m worried. He should be showing at least some improvement by now, ya  
know? I don’t know what to do; I feel like I’m just making it worse,” Jordie sighed, scrubbing a hand through his beard. 

“You’re doing everything you can, Jordie. You know how concussions are. You’re not going to be able to will this away, he’s got to heal on his own time.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Tyler groaning, a sure sign that he was about to wake up. Jordie shot Jamie a look, warning him not to stress out or upset Tyler. 

“Hey, babe, how are you feeling?” Jordie asked quietly, gently rubbing Tyler’s side.

“Okay, I think. My head doesn’t hurt, just feels weird. Kinda fuzzy.” 

Jordie wasn’t surprised; Tyler and pain medicine didn’t mix well. At least he wasn’t in pain, though. He’d take what he could get. 

“Do you think you can eat something?” 

“Maybe. I’m not sure. I might puke on you, though.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Jamie joked, earning himself a glare from Jordie.

“Shut up, Jamie. Go heat up some soup or something, eh?” Jordie shooed him out of the living room, knowing Jamie would get the soup as requested.

Tyler grinned up at Jordie, sticking his tongue out when his boyfriend made a face at him.

“Wanna try and sit up? You can’t eat laying down.”

“Yeah. I need to pee, anyway.”

Jordie got an arm around Tyler’s shoulders, the other on his chest to make sure he didn’t try and sit up too quickly and cause his head to start spinning again. It took a minute, Jordie forcing Tyler to go slowly, but eventually he was vertical and not looking any worse for wear. 

“Hey, Jordie?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks. For everything. I know I haven’t been the easiest to deal with lately, and I know you haven’t been sleeping or going out cuz of me, and just… Thank you. I couldn’t make it through this without you.”

Jordie paused in his efforts to get Tyler off the couch, processing everything that had just come out of his boyfriend’s mouth. He was close to tears, the mental exhaustion of the past few weeks finally catching up to him. Finally he got his senses about him and sat down heavily next to Tyler, gently pulling the smaller man into his arms. 

“Ty… You don’t need to thank me for any of this. This is what you do when you love someone. I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.”

The two men sat there for a few moments, taking comfort in each other. 

“Not to break the moment here, but I really do need to use the bathroom,” Tyler giggled, turning a sheepish smile to Jordie. 

Jordie laughed, standing up and pulling Tyler softly into his arms, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“I love you, you know that?”

“I love you, too, babe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit short, but hopefully the next update will be longer! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Come scream about hockey with me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/courtdancer10)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! I'm going to try and post another chapter soon, so keep your eyes out for that! 
> 
> This chapter contains a panic attack, so if that bothers you please take caution before reading!

Nearly a month later, and Tyler was still sidelined with concussion symptoms. He was mostly recovered, but was still periodically slammed by migraines and light sensitivity. Jordie was concerned, but grateful that Tyler at least seemed to be progressing. 

He was not feeling as happy when he walked into his apartment one afternoon to see Tyler and Jamie wrestling.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Jordie boomed.

Tyler and Jamie immediately froze, Tyler’s head still stuck in a headlock. 

Jordie was seeing red. Did Tyler and Jamie both spontaneously lose their minds at the same time? Tyler had a concussion, for fuck’s sake! 

“Hey, Jordie. Have a good day?” Tyler asked innocently from under Jamie’s arm.

Jordie said nothing, glaring at the pair and trying to even out his breathing. Jamie and Tyler were untangling themselves from the pile they had ended up in on the floor, both trying to keep grins off their faces. One look at Jordie’s face was all they needed to wipe the smirks away. 

Tyler walked over to Jordie, face uncertain, reaching out to put his hand on Jordie’s forearm. Jordie shrugged his hand off, glaring at his boyfriend and brother separately before turning on his heel and out the front door, letting it slam shut behind him.

He had no idea where he was going, he just needed to not be in that apartment. He climbed into his car, resting his head on the steering wheel . How could Jamie and Tyler be so fucking careless? Tyler had just started having more good days than bad, he wasn’t even close to being ready to be wrestling around. The thought that Tyler could have set his recovery back made Jordie’s blood turn to ice. 

He knew he was probably overreacting, but he couldn’t get his heart to stop racing and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. His entire body seemed to be going numb, pins and needles shooting through his arms into his fingertips. Panic washed over him, images of Tyler lying unmoving on the ice playing behind his eyelids. His chest felt like it was being squeezed by a vice. He was gasping for air, trying to fill his lungs, but it wasn’t working. Ice raced down his back, fear edging out all rational thoughts. 

Suddenly there were arms wrapping around him, an urgent voice in his ear. He pulled away from the arms, not able to deal with anything being around his already tight chest. The voice was still in his ear, and he tried to focus on it.

“Jor? Baby, I need you to slow your breathing down, okay? Jamie called an ambulance, it’s gonna be okay.” 

Tyler. That was Tyler. Jordie reached out a hand, searching blindly for any part of his boyfriend. Tyler would make everything okay; Jordie trusted him more than anything else in his life. Finally Jordie’s hand came in contact with the fabric of Tyler’s shirt. He curled his fingers into the soft cotton, taking his head off of the steering wheel and burying it into Tyler’s chest.

“Tyler,” Jordie whimpered. “Can’t breathe,” he choked out.

Tyler ran a hand soothingly through the older man’s hair, his other hand covering the one Jordie still had clutching him.   
“I’m here, Jor. You’re doing great, baby, just focus on me. Try to match up your breathing to mine, okay?”

Jordie tried, focussing on the feeling of Tyler’s chest rising and falling under his head. Slowly, so slowly, the bind around his chest loosened, leaving him to breathe easier. The feeling of unbridled panic was subsiding, trying to keep its claws in Jordie but ultimately failing. He heard a siren close, quickly cutting off before more voices floated into his awareness. He couldn’t force his brain to focus on what the voices were saying, instead taking comfort in Tyler’s steady heartbeat under his ear. 

He felt Tyler wrap an arm loosely around his waist, gently trying to coax him out of the car. Jordie resisted, unwilling to move.

“You gotta get out of the car, baby, the paramedics are here.”

Jordie relented, allowing Tyler to slowly help him out of the car and onto the stretcher, keeping his hold of Tyler’s shirt the entire time. The panic was still on the edge of his consciousness, not fully in control of him but not far enough receded to leave him feeling normal again.

Tyler didn’t try to get Jordie to let up on his grip, simply moving as close to him as the stretcher would allow and running his hand through Jordie’s hair again.

“They’re gonna check you out, okay? Just try and relax,” Tyler told him softly.

The paramedics worked quickly, eventually catching Jordie’s attention. He had started slipping into unconsciousness, panic fully gone and exhaustion sinking into his bones.

“Well, Mr. Benn, it looks like you had a panic attack. You’re going to be fine, but you’ll probably be tired for most of the day. We can take you to the hospital if you’d like, but it’s completely up to you,” the paramedic said.

“No. No hospital,” Jordie said drowsily before Tyler could answer.

Tyler frowned, but didn’t try to fight Jordie on it. 

“Alright, then you’re free to go. Give us a call if anything else happens, okay?” 

Jordie nodded, swinging his legs over the side of the stretcher to stand up. Jamie appeared at his right side, looking pale and terrified. Jordie hadn’t noticed him there through the ordeal, but realized he must have been there the entire time.

“I’m good, Chubbs, no need to worry,” Jordie tried to smile reassuringly at his little brother, but wasn’t sure how successful he was at actually reassuring him.

Jamie didn’t reply, just pulled Jordie’s free arm over his shoulders, supporting his weight. He and Tyler got Jordie into the apartment and into bed, letting Jordie list against them as exhaustion overtook him.

Tyler climbed in next to Jordie, pulling him into his arms and letting Jordie pillow his head on Tyler’s chest. He drifted to sleep to the steady rise and fall of Tyler’s chest under his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning on doing probably 2 or 3 more chapters for the story, depending on how it works out. This chapter was supposed to go a completely different direction than I had planned, but I like how it turned out. Let me know what you thought!


	4. Chapter 4

Tyler felt awful. He knew wrestling with Jamie probably wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had, but he didn’t think Jordie would freak out so badly over it. In hindsight, he probably should have. Jordie had only left his side when absolutely necessary and had been hovering every second that they were together. Knowing that he was the cause of his boyfriend’s pain and worry was the worst feeling. 

He was laying on the bed with Jordie, watching him as he slept. There was a crease between Jordie’s eyebrows, and it killed Tyler to know that Jordie was upset even as he slept. He gently smoothed out the lines, letting his hands pet back and over the ginger’s hair. 

Jordie blinked awake slowly, dazed and confused as to where he was. Getting his bearings, he realized he was in his bedroom and half on top of Tyler, who was smiling gently down at him.

“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?” Tyler asked gently.

“Better, I think. Just.. sore, kinda. Tired still,” Jordie responded groggily.

Tyler sat up gently, shifting Jordie so that he was resting his head in Tyler’s lap. He kept petting his hand through Jordie’s hair, trying to keep him comfortable.

“I’m so sorry, Jor. I shouldn’t have been wrestling with Jamie. I didn’t think about it, and I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ve been so perfect taking care of me and then I go and cause you a fucking panic attack. I’m so, so sorry.”  
“I know you didn’t mean to upset me, Ty. I overreacted. If you’re feeling good enough to wrestle that’s good. I just can’t stop picturing you laying on the ice not moving, and it scared me when I thought that you might fuck up your head again.”

“You can’t just bottle this stuff up. You gotta tell me so things like today don’t happen, okay?”

Jordie nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around Tyler’s waist and burrowing further into his lap, his eyes closing in contentment. They’d have to get up for dinner soon, but for now he was content to lay with his boyfriend, letting the comfort and love surround him.

\------------  
Epilogue

It was the first game of the new season, and Tyler ws nervous. He hadn’t played since his injury last season, and while he rationally knew his body was healed and ready, he still had that little bit of doubt that he would be able to perform at full capacity.

“Ready to go?” 

Jordie had snuck up behind him, winding his arms around the smaller man’s waist, knowing he needed the comfort before stepping out into the tunnel. Tyler took the gesture for the reassurance it was meant to be, leaning back onto Jordie’s strong chest.

“I’m nervous,” he admitted.

“Don’t be. We’re all gonna be looking out for you, and your body is ready. You know what to do, yeah? It’s gonna be fine.”

Tyler smiled, firm in the knowledge that Jordie would always be there to catch him. He took a deep breath, squeezing Jordie’s arm before stepping away. 

They exited the tunnel together, skating out to the roar of the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long, but I've got the last part of the story up!
> 
> I lost a bit of interest in this story towards the end, but I hope I ended it in a way that y'all will be happy with. I've got a couple other stories I'm working on, so check back!


End file.
